Howard greek



(Ne Model.) V

' H. GRBER.

RAILWAY SPIKE.

Ne. 455,900. f Patented Ju1y14, 1.891. 1

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I I l UNITED STATES PATENT y i HOWARD Gianna, ouin-inn fmtwinzige@ois.v e y, p

RAILWAY-SPIKE.

SPECIFICATION formingjpart of 'Letters Patent No. 455,90o, dated July 14,` 1391.

i Application filed January 17, 188.9. Serial No. 296,689. (No model.)

To all whom, t may concern:- Beit known that LIIOWARD Genna, acitizen of the United States, residing at Lake View, in the eountyof Cook and State oflllinoisfhave invented or discovered acertain new and useful Improvement in Railway- Spikes, of which improvement the following is a speciiication. Y In the accompanying drawings, forniinga- 1o partof this specification, Figure l is an edge `and Fig. is a side View of a spike embodying 1 my invention. uw--In the usccf railway-spikes'serious diihculties occr from defective orimperleet points.4 Sometimes the bevel of the pointis too abrupt, and the result is that the wood fiber is broken not only in the immediatepath of the spike, but also for some distance around it.` This isespeeially true of soft-wood ties, and such 2o ties are the ones. most commonly in use in this country, as hard wood `for such purposes is becoming somewhat scarce; also, the ordinary machine-madespike frequently has'a defectivepoint, or one in which the cutting- 2 5 edge-does not extend in a straight line across the pointer is more orless ragged, and in such cases the evil already spoken of is aggravated; also, itis true that the machine-made article frequently has fins formed along the corners 3o or ends of thev bevels, and these still further interfere with the making of a smoothly-cnt or well-defined hole; and a still further diihculty arises from the fact thatniany oi" the soft woods new employedrfor railway-tie pur- 3 5 poses, and particularly. cedar, cyprus, and similar woods, areV full of little k-nots, and the ordinary spike point when striking them 'is apt to giveway instead ci' cutting through, with the result of twisting or .delceting the o spike-shank, and so lessening its hold-ing-l power. These evils maybe remedied in part. by giving to the point a of the spike a sharp cutting-edge andan edge which extends en-sy tirely across the point and at right angles with the line in which it is t0Y be driven; but spikes thus pointed are subject to the still further diieulty that they are roughlyhandled in packing and necessarily bang against each other endwise as well as in all other direc- ;o tions while inclosed in kegs and being transported from place to place, and the sharpened cutting-edges or poin ts are liable to be thus this: The spikes' as "th modeof application may-be adopted'.

Y injured orperhapsspoiled. In order. to. overcome this difficulty and insure the `delivery of the spike to the .user out onthe track'un- 55 injured and in good conditionfor driving-I temper or harden ythe pointuJ ofthe spike before it leaves the shop or before it ispaeked This may be done` in different Ways-aafor example, bythe ordinary tempering er hard- -6 ening` processes applied to each Spkeepoint; l after being ground or otherwisefnished, and by this I mean the mannercomnionly used in the tempering or harden-ingofiedged'or pointedtools. A l, t, Ano'theninethodwhich may-be practicedis Athird method of tempering or, hardening,

which forms the subject-.matter ot' anothery application, may be adopted. f In thismethod Itake the machine-made spike and grind the 8oy desired bevel on one orbothsides, according as the wedge-shaped or chisel-shaped point Vis desired, and then do this grinding in such way as 'to raise the temperature of the'spike-point to what may be termed a tempering heat, or 8 5 a heat at which steel will take a temper-'say cherry-red, or ;.thereabo'ut. thus heated still retains a tempering-heat I subject it to the action of water orstealn or 'of vany other suitable fluid lor liquid Whichis 9o adapted to produce a tempering orl hardening effect.. Such Water' or other fluid may` be applied in the form of ajet or small stream, or.. the hot pointof the spike maybe dipped into the water or other liquid,

While the point or other suitable The. present improvement is vclaimed in its application to spikes generally, lWithout. regard to forni or construction o'f'head, neck, or shank, since many such are known, and to-'ll loc 4 ofy which a tempered point or cutting-edge would be exceedingly advantageous; j At the same time, while it .is truc that. the .Cuttingedge is a great 'advantage in a spike-0f this Yl comehot from 1 the` l machine maybe subjected to the action' at their points of any suitable tempering or har euing fluid or. liquid, Vsuch as wateror steam,- 7oapplied by jetsv or by the spike-,point .being dipped thereinor in'any sutableknoW-n Way;` Then after the spikes have become eoldthe points may be groundkby the Aprocessknown as wet grinding, so as to receive thefvdesired 7 5 .sharp'cutting-edge. l'

2L p n 455,900

Io l A railway-spike having a soft or untempered body portion and a tempered or artificiallyhardened point or cutting-edge,substantially asset forth. v

yIn testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

HOWARD GREER. y

- Witnesses:

CHARLES F. lLonson, CHARLES A. ALLEN. 

